


reunion with a stranger

by lebsian



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, OH and he’s an oblivious idiot, Soulmates, Valentine’s Day, barry’s a bit of a scrooge with the holiday but it’s fine because he meets the love of his life, but that’s not too far from canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29392809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lebsian/pseuds/lebsian
Summary: they say that valentine’s day is the day where people are most likely to meet their soulmates. barry thinks that’s bullshit. it’s all superstition, nothing’s based in fact, and nothing will change his mind about that.…and then he finds his soulmate on february 14th.
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans/Lup
Comments: 17
Kudos: 82





	reunion with a stranger

Ugh. Valentine’s Day. Barry’s gonna roll his eyes out of his skull just thinking about it. He hasn’t even gotten out of bed yet; he just woke up, checked his phone, and— yep! It’s the fourteenth.

And look, he’s not an asshole. He has a reason to dislike the holiday, and he doesn’t sprinkle his misery onto everyone else in his life like a depressed chef, mind you. He just keeps it to himself; a dark and gloomy little secret.

He pulls down the sleeve of the shirt he sleeps in, revealing the neatly printed tattoo on his wrist, right on his pulse point. A simple skull stares back at him with an eye-less gaze.

Everyone is born connected to someone else. Someone who will, in some way or another, end up playing possibly the most important role in their life. Some people’s soulmarks are crescent moons or hearts or balloons. Barry has a skull. Certainly an interesting surprise for his parents when he was born.

He has no idea what his soulmate is like. He supposes they have an equal interest in theoretical necromancy as him, or else this tattoo seems a bit one sided.

 _But_ , they say that this holiday is the most likely day people find their soulmates. It’s why it’s celebrated so much. Desperate souls looking for the people who will fill that hole in their chests.

He’s gone decades worth of Valentine’s Days without so much as a hope. He doesn’t expect today to be different.

So Barry gets up, going about his morning as usual. It’s easy to ignore things if he keeps his head down and listens to a podcast through his _loud_ headphones.

The only hiccup happens when he’s at the train station. Somehow, over his headphones, he hears the clacking heels of someone running to the station where he is. He looks up, and a tall elven woman dressed in red looks discombobulated and rushed as she skids to a stop beside him.

Chest heaving as she catches her breath, she’s looking through her purse, probably making sure she has everything. Her hair, though wind mussed, is done in a bun pinned to the base of her skull. Her makeup is done perfectly; her red lipstick matching her crimson trench coat to make her appear like a color-coded main character in a cartoon. She looks like the epitome of a businesswoman— and a frantic one at that.

“You good?” Barry blurts out. Absentmindedly, he pauses his podcast to hear her response.

She looks up at him, confused that he’s addressing her. Still sounding a bit winded, she says, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just… I just got promoted and I don’t wanna be late on my first day. You know?”

Barry’s been holding onto a steady job as a college professor for years and hasn’t been promoted or demoted once during that time. He doesn’t “know” at all. Still, he says, “Yeah. I feel that.”

Maybe it’s her beauty. She’s downright gorgeous, looking like she just ran off the set of a show about the woman who rules the office. Maybe that’s why he feels the need to lie in order to impress her; maybe that’s why he felt the need to initiate a conversation in the first place.

The woman takes a minute to collect herself before chuckling. “You should’ve seen me this morning. I got up super early to make sure I’d be on time but my alarm didn’t go off! My phone died while I was asleep.” She shakes her head and pulls out a pocket mirror from her purse, letting the strap hang from her elbow as she checks her reflection. She starts adjusting little wisps of hair as she continues. “My brother came into my room and just _smacked_ me with a pillow until I got up. Then I had to rush and skip breakfast and I think there’s a rock in my shoe.”

“Sounds rough. Sorry to hear that,” Barry says. He immediately feels bad; not for her situation— or not _just_ that— but because he initiated a conversation and has no way to continue it. Luckily, she seems to be fine with just talking and talking. And trust him, he means that in the best way.

“Eh, it’s fine,” she says, shrugging. She snaps her mirror closed and puts it back in her purse. “I’ve had worse mornings. But lemme get this— stupid pebble.”

She lifts up one foot and pulls off her heel, holding it upside down and shaking it until a little rock falls out and _clicks_ against the ground. Standing on one foot, she sends a smile Barry’s way and says, “There we go.”

It’s when she goes to put the shoe back on that she wobbles. She loses her balance and starts falling Barry’s way. Instinctively, he darts out a hand to catch her at the same time her gloved hand reaches out for purchase.

Her palm collides with his wrist and a sharp burn ricochets through his veins. As soon as she’s stable she yanks her hand away, staring at it and Barry in confusion.

“Either your hand is ice cold or I’m imagining things,” she says. Her tone is joking but she clearly looks worried.

“Yeah no I felt it too. Why did you feel cold when I got burned?” Barry asks. Right over his soulmark too. Shit. “Wait, does it feel like that when people touch your soulmark? ‘Cause no one really touches mine.”

“Oh no that never happens to me, and people touch mine all the time.” The woman pulls off her glove and shows him her palm. On it, plain as day, is a skull.

His eyes must’ve blown wide, because she says, “What? Skulls aren’t _that_ bad of an omen. We all got one, why’re you so pressed that I got two?”

“No no no, it’s not that,” Barry says quickly, hurrying to pull down his jacket sleeve. “It’s just— I— here.” He gives up on words, instead presenting his own mark to her.

Now it’s her turn to be shocked. He doesn’t blame her sudden silence— he doesn’t know what to say either. Instead of talking though, she slowly steps forward, gently pressing her mark to his again.

The flood of heat returns, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s _warm_ , like stepping into sunlight. The woman smiles; it must be pleasant for her too.

In a surprised, joyful whisper, she says, “I found you.”

A dumb smile stretches over Barry’s face. “Yeah.”

Then, with the worst timing ever, the train comes. Horn echoing into their ears, a distant rumbling of the tracks; it jolts them into pulling away, sheepish and awkwardly smiling.

“Uh, here,” the woman says, pulling out her phone. It’s connected to a portable charger. “We both have somewhere to be, but lemme get your number so we can call later. I’ll text you when I’m free.”

“Oh, yeah sure,” Barry says, quickly fishing out his phone. He’s already such a mess around her, but can he be blamed? He just met his _soulmate_! Such a shitty morning is turning around quickly, even if it’s from shit to sweaty anxiety.

They trade numbers and head for the train together, but quickly get lost in the flood of people leaving the train. Barry is sad to see her go, but he knows they’ll talk later. As he sits down at a seat, he can’t keep a fond smile off his face as he looks at his new contact.

 _Lup_.

* * *

Classes drag on. Maybe it’s because winter often leaves people bitter and too cold to focus, or maybe it’s because Barry’s mind drifts to his soulmark and the face of Lup in every dull moment. He nearly writes the wrong name on a form and he found himself doodling skulls between periods.

He’s in deep already. The holiday may be a bore to him but he’s always been a hopeless romantic despite that. He just doesn’t like that people take superstition as science and created a whole holiday that shoves _“You're Single!”_ in his face.

But now… he’s not so sure what to think. After all, he _did_ find his soulmate today, but it could just be coincidental rather than fated. He supposes that either way, it doesn’t matter; he’s one of those people who found their soulmates on the day of all days, and he’s doomed to be mixed in with the people who have big dramatic meetings and bother the singles he used to be a part of.

All of that… and he’s still not sure how to feel about Lup herself. Well, he _knows_ how he feels: he’s awestruck by her. She’s gorgeous and funny and she sure as shit knows how to make an entrance. He feels a little in love.

And it’s _stupid_! Soulmates aren’t just romantic! She could end up being his best friend, they could even end up as enemies! All the soulmark means is that Lup is destined to be the most important person in Barry’s life; that could manifest in any way.

But… he wants it to be love. He only talked to her for minutes, and it’s been mere hours since then, but he’s already wondering if she feels the same. Does she look at her soulmark as often as him? Is she thinking about him? Did… did he make a good first impression?

He shakes his head, knocking the thoughts out of his head. He has a class to teach after lunch, and he hasn’t polished up the notes yet.

Then his phone starts ringing.

He nearly drops everything to grab his phone. It’s _her_. Answering, he says, “Hello?”

“Hey, Barry,” Lup says. Despite it all, he feels like his name fits in her mouth. She also sounds like she’s in a small room; her voice echoes after her.

“Hey,” he says dumbly.

“Hey,” she says again, laughing. “I just wanted to see if we have the right numbers. Also… I couldn’t stop thinking about you this morning. That sounds creepy, I know, but we’re… you know…”

“Soulmates?” Barry provides. He’s happy he’s in an empty classroom. He’d surely die of embarrassment if one of his students walked in on him talking like this.

“Yeah. That,” Lup says, “Fuck, it feels so weird that we finally found each other. And on today of all days.”

Barry nods, before remembering she can’t see him. “Yeah. To be honest, I never really believed in that stuff.”

Lup laughs again. It’s angelic and gorgeous and insert about a thousand more sappy comparisons. “Must be wild for you then, huh?”

“No kidding,” Barry says with a chuckle. A beat passes, then… “I’ve been thinking about you a lot too.”

“Really?” And _fuck_ , she sounds so hopeful. How is someone like her surprised to hear that he can’t get her out of his head? She must have that effect on everyone she meets, soulmate or no.

“Yeah,” he says, “Is there… any way we can meet later? For dinner or something?”

There’s silence for a moment and Barry gets worried he scared her off. Then she says, “You read my mind.”

He smiles. “Great. So uh, did you have any place in mind?”

“Umm… no, actually. I don’t know how close you are to me. All I know is we take the same train.” Lup chuckles. “We can work out the details later, I’m gonna be busy for the rest of the day.”

“Sounds good,” Barry says. He opens his mouth to speak, but Lup beats him to the punch.

“Can I get something off my chest, though?” she asks, speaking quickly.

“Of course,” he says. It’s probably nothing, but he feels worry mounting inside his chest.

Lup sighs over the phone, sending a wave of static through the receiver. She hums, taking the time to think of what to say, and it echoes in whatever room she’s in. Eventually, she says, “Can we take this slow?”

Barry doesn’t know how to respond. What even is _this_? He says, “What?”

“I know, it’s dumb. But soulmates are important. I don’t wanna rush building our relationship just because it was meant to exist in the first place.”

“Oh,” Barry says. “Yeah, that makes total sense. We can definitely take it slow, if you’d prefer.”

Lup breaths another sigh, this time laced with relief. “Thank fuck. I thought you were gonna think I was a weirdo. I just don’t wanna rush falling in love, you know?”

A silence stretches between them as they both realize what she just said. Barry’s eyes blow wide. Lup adds, “Or… whatever type of relationship we have.” She laughs awkwardly. “Sorry. I think Valentine’s Day is getting to me.”

Barry forces a chuckle, lest he sit there thinking about _falling in love with Lup_. “Yeah, no I get it.”

“It’s just… I have two soulmarks,” Lup says, and Barry’s shocked into silence again. Multiple soulmates aren’t unheard of, and aren’t even that rare, but he only has one. Why does she have two?

“Really?”

“Yeah. The other one’s to my brother. We’re real close, you know?”

Again: Barry doesn’t know— he’s an only child. “Yeah.”

“So whenever I would look at my other mark— our mark— I would always think, ‘If this person is going to be as close to me as my _twin_ , then I wanna do it right.’ I’m sure you can understand that.”

“Totally,” Barry says. Suddenly a massive weight has been placed on his shoulders. She’s expecting him to be as good to her as her twin brother; how is he gonna do that? How has fate decided he’s worthy enough of that?

“Well um, I think I have to go,” Lup says, disappointment clear in her voice. But she chuckles and adds, “I think I’d get fired if I spent the rest of my lunch hiding in the bathroom talking on the phone.”

Barry checks the time and it’s almost the end of his lunch break too. Students will be pouring in any minute now. “Yeah, I should go too. But we’ll talk later about dinner?”

“Totally,” Lup says, echoing Barry’s previous response. Her smile is evident, even over the phone.

“Okay. See you tonight then,” Barry says.

“Bye Barry,” Lup says.

“Bye Lup,” he says, then hangs up. Immediately he puts his phone down as a dumb smile crosses his face. Looks like he isn’t getting those notes done, but he has a date tonight so… you win some, you lose some.

* * *

They decide on a restaurant, though it’s quite early. Barry doesn’t mind; he skipped lunch after all. He makes sure to run home and get changed beforehand though. If he didn’t have to fit a dress code at work, he’d probably enjoy his job a lot more.

In his best pair of jeans, he arrives first at the restaurant: _The Davy Lamp_. He’s happy they both agreed on a place that isn’t too fancy, so he doesn’t feel underdressed.

Over text, she said she’s going to change too; just another thing they have in common. However, when she walks in, he sees that she did a lot more than change into her casual friday wear.

Gone is the trench coat, the heels, and the tight bun. Here to stay is a leather jacket, a black pleated skirt, and clunky combat boots. Her hair is let loose, and Barry notices that the curls are dyed red at the ends. It matches her lipstick, which is the only thing that remained the same.

She smiles at his no doubt dumbfounded expression as she sits across from him. “A big difference from this morning, huh?”

Barry manages a nod. “You look beautiful.”

“Why thank you,” Lup says with a little chuckle. “Same to you, bluejeans.”

“Thanks,” Barry says, a smile falling onto his face. Already, he can’t help but smile in her presence. This must be the addictive quality so many people who’ve met their soulmates talk about; that, or Lup just has that effect on him, fate be damned.

“So, um, what is it that you actually do?” Lup asks.

Ah yes, small talk: Barry’s worst enemy. He says, “I’m a college professor, down in Neverwinter.”

Lup looks pleasantly surprised. “Oh, so he’s _educated_? I’d like a warning next time my soulmate turns out to be a nerd.”

Barry laughs. “How is that much different than a recently-promoted businesswoman?”

Lup rolls her eyes, crossing her arms and slumping against the back of her chair. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I may be good at that job, but I certainly don’t like it.”

“What is it you’re so good at, exactly?” Barry asks.

“Sales. It’s _boring_ but it pays.”

“Well, if you’re good at it, it sounds like you’re just as nerdy as me,” Barry says with a small smirk.

Lup looks offended. “You’re rude! Don’t be rude!”

Barry laughs again and, despite herself, Lup joins in. It’s about then that a waitress comes to their table to give them menus and let them order drinks.

“Have you ever been here?” Lup asks as the waitress walks away. “I think I’m just gonna get my regular.”

“I haven’t, no,” Barry says, eyes scanning the options. He never knows what to get. “Any recommendations?”

Over his own, Barry watches as Lup starts to look intently at her own menu. “Umm… any allergies?”

“Lactose intolerant.”

“Oh that’s too bad, they have a fuckin’ _good_ mac ‘n cheese.”

Barry chuckles. “Maybe next time.”

Lup makes eye contact with him from across the table. She looks excited and smug and it’s electrifying. “Next time?”

“Well yeah, I supposed this wasn’t the last time I’d be seeing my soulmate.” Barry suddenly feels nervous. Is that appropriate to say? Does she want to see him as much as he wants to see her?

“Oh, obviously.” And Lup evaporates Barry’s worries in two casually said words. “I just didn’t know you’d wanna go to dinner again.”

“I’m up for anything.” Barry’s pretty sure Lup could even make doing taxes fun.

Mischief takes over her features and she smirks at him. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Then she goes back to the menu. “Why don’t you get the chicken? It’s what I’m getting.”

“Sure,” Barry says, closing his menu. Lup closes hers too, and they’re back to an awkward silence. Or maybe it’s not awkward, maybe Barry’s just nervous. Both are equally likely.

“Can I ask you a question?” he blurts, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Shoot,” Lup says, a warm smile inviting him to be blunt.

“What’s it like having two soulmates?”

Lup ponders that, humming as her eyes travel to the ceiling in thought. “I don’t even know if I can articulate it. Also, like, I never had to go looking for my brother, we were born together. My mark is right here—” She taps her side. “because we’re _connected at the hip_. Most people with two marks have to search twice as long for their ‘mates, but I didn’t.”

“It must be different growing up with a soulmate though.”

“Oh, _vastly_. Growing up, he and I went everywhere together. If one of our guardians tried to punish us, they’d end up grounding both of us because we’d both take the blame.” Lup hums again, then snorts. “I guess not much has changed, seeing as we share an apartment.”

Barry can’t even imagine a life like that. On top of the whole ‘he was an incredibly boring kid who never got in trouble’ thing, he doesn’t know if he’d be that close to a sibling, even if they were a twin. He’s never felt that close to _anyone_ really. Anyone… but… Lup.

Look, he knows it’s been a day, and they barely interacted so far, but he feels like he’s known her his whole life. Ugh, every bit of that sappy soulmate bullshit is already filling his head. He says, “Sounds interesting.”

Lup laughs. “Yeah, _interesting_. That sure is a word for Taako.”

Barry’s about to respond when the waitress returns with drinks, taking their dinner orders with her as she leaves as quickly as she comes. He sure appreciates that they skip the fake polite customer service shit in favor of quickness here.

“Well she’s efficient,” Lup jokes, dunking her straw into the drink and pulling it in for a sip.

“Better than pretending to be happy working here,” Barry replies, taking a sip of his own.

Lup laughs. “Yeah, that’s the worst part of retail ‘nd shit. You ever work those kinds of jobs? I’ve done it millions of times.”

Barry nods. “I dealt with so many assholes who thought I was on their side. They never knew I was a closet goth studying theoretical necromancy between shifts.”

Lup laughs again, harder this time and snorting between breaths. “I can’t hide my interest,” she says, gesturing to her outfit. The chains around her neck and wrists jingle with the movement. “They spotted my middle school Fantasy Hot Topic ass from ten miles away.”

They both laugh. Barry’s usually worried about being too loud in a public place, but right now he’s not so conscious of people other than Lup and himself.

The conversation continues from there, and in between bites of food they swap stories of their necromantic pasts. (Barry’s happy to know that his hopes of finding someone as interested in it as him are real.) Lup’s curious about what being a teacher is like and he’s just as invested in what it’s like to be… Lup. She’s just so _different_ from him in so many ways, yet they manage to get along and click so quickly— it’s fascinating. She’s fascinating.

This feels so much like a date. It’s Valentine’s Day, the mood is all romantic, and they’re both pointedly ignoring the clearly-in-love couples at other tables. Barry has to keep reminding himself that this isn’t a date. It’s just… two soulmates meeting for the first time on the fabled most lovely day of the year.

Fuck, he’s gonna lose it.

“Oh shit, look at that,” Lup says around the end of the meal, looking over Barry’s shoulder.

He turns, and is faced with a window. Outside, the sun is crawling towards the horizon. Turning back, he says, “Woah, it’s late. How long have we been here?”

“Couple hours,” Lup says, “Time sure flies, huh?”

Barry nods. _When you’re having fun_ … she’s having fun with him? That’s… maybe a first; at least after just meeting. Bonus points: it’s mutual. “We should probably get going, before it’s too late.”

She makes a face at that, and he realizes it’s disappointment. Trust and believe, he feels the same way for suggesting they end this day. Nevertheless, she says, “Yeah, you’re right.”

So they flag down their waitress and wrap up this dinner, paying and making their way out. Barry took the bus here, and he’s planning on taking it back. But Lup makes no move towards the parking lot.

At what must be a confused expression, she says, “I walked here. My apartment isn’t far.”

“Oh,” he says. Duh. Then an idea hits him “How about I walk you back?”

It’s plainly a selfish attempt at spending more time with her, but it might be a bit much. This might just be too romantic for her taste.

But Lup says, “Oh yeah! That’d be great,” with the best smile he’s ever seen on a person ever in his life.

So like a lost puppy, he lets her lead them down the sidewalk in the direction of her home. She says, “Do you live around here?”

“It’s not walking distance, if that’s what you’re asking,” he says, earning a chuckle from her. “About ten minutes by bus, then I walked the rest of the way.”

Lup seems to consider that for a moment, watching the sidewalk as she thinks. She catches him watching out of the corner of her eye, then says, “Just wondering how easy it’d be for us to get to each other’s places is all.” She shrugs with a smile, then her expression turns to one of shocked realization and slight embarrassment. “I mean, we’re obviously gonna be spending time together, being— y'know— soulmates and all.”

Barry smiles nervously and nods at that. “Of course.” This is… tricky. They both know that soulmates don’t just have a first meeting and end it there; they stay in touch for the _rest of their lives_. It makes sense to talk about seeing each other again since they definitely will, but that doesn’t make it not weird. He only met her today, after all, why should she be casually saying he’ll be over her apartment?

All of that is complicated enough without the added bonus of him wanting to be over her apartment. He wants to be friends, duh, but he also wants _more_. He’s always dreamt of his soulmate ending up as a partner and eventual spouse. And having a name and face to add to that desire? Only makes it stronger.

But it’s not like he can outright say he wants to marry Lup one day! Even if he does, and even for soulmates, that’s weird as fuck! So he just settles for saying, “Are you sure your brother would be cool with company?”

Lup snorts. “He better be. He has his friends over all the time and they make me listen to them play video games and argue about who gets to use the ‘sword of doom’ or whatever.”

Barry laughs. “I promise to not talk about swords, then.”

“I appreciate that,” Lup says with a smile. “I’ll probably make you play with me though. I have a feeling you’ll actually play it _right_ , unlike those doofuses.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to ‘make’ me, actually, but I will warn you that I’m not good at all.”

“Can’t be worse than Magnus’ button mashing.”

“I suppose not.”

Lup chuckles at that, looking away from him and smiling at the ground as they walk, hands stuffed in her jacket pockets. Barry likes seeing that smile on her face; he isn't even worried about the possible awkwardness of silently staring at her like this, he’s just enjoying the sight of her.

Then she catches him again, and bumps her shoulder into his, sheepishly telling him to “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he says rather slyly. He gently bumps her back.

“But you’re giving me a _look_ , you ass!” she says, bumping into him with a little more force.

He wordlessly returns it and she does it again. They continue this little shoulder flight, progressively putting more weight into each shove. But one of Barry’s is a little too much, sending Lup stumbling and tipping. Just before she falls, Barry reaches out and catches her, one of his hands catching her flailing own and his other arm snaking around her waist to support her.

They both freeze like that, in an impromptu dip in the middle of the sidewalk. Lup looks blankly surprised, her free hand coming to rest on his upper arm. “Thanks,” she breathes.

“Of course,” he returns without thinking. Then he clears his throat and stands her up, taking his hands off her. With the manners of the fully grown adult he is, he tries again. “I mean, no problem.”

Lup seems a bit… stunned? She awkwardly tangles her fingers together and her eyes travel from the sidewalk to the sky and back again. “…Yeah. We should, um, get going?” She makes eye contact and gestures down the road.

Oh. “Oh, yeah, totally.”

It gets kind of awkward after that, an atmosphere Barry can’t ignore by staring at Lup. It’s not as if he isn’t though, he can’t help himself. She’s staring at the ground, lost in thought. Her body is clearly moving on its own judging by the look on her face.

He doesn’t really know what to do, so he just walks silently next to her until she stops outside an apartment building.

“We’ve reached our destination,” she says, hiking a thumb in the building’s direction. He can see she’s trying to joke like they were, but the past few silent minutes have dimmed that light considerably.

“Well, uh, goodnight, I guess?” Barry tries, “I hope today wasn’t too weird.”

“Oh it was plenty weird, but it wasn’t your fault,” Lup says with a warm smile. Then it disappears, replaced with that shy thoughtfulness again. “Actually, can I say something before you go?”

“Of course,” Barry says, though he _is_ rather confused. “What’s on your mind?”

“Um…” She trails off, thinking as she avoids his gaze. Barry stays patient, giving her all the time she needs. A beat later, she continues, “Ever since we met, I wasn’t able to stop thinking about you. Obviously, because I met my second soulmate and that’s a pretty big deal, but also, I just… instantly felt like we were close. Like we knew each other _so_ much longer than a day. I… I kinda fell in love with you? Instantly? And I don’t really know what to do about it, so I thought, ‘hey, at least tell him and find out if it’s a soulmate thing or just a Lup thing!’ So, uh, yeah.”

She didn’t look at him at all while speaking, and she stays that way as he processes everything that she said. Lup… loves him. Already. Just like how he already loves her. Huh.

“Huh.”

She looks up at him with plain confusion. “‘Huh?’”

“No, not at that— it’s just, um… I feel the same? And I thought it was just me too.”

She mulls that over for a second like he did. “…Huh.”

“Huh,” he agrees.

A beat passes.

“Well, can I kiss you?”

The bluntness of it comes as a shock to Barry. Instead of speaking, he just nods.

Then Lup is closer to him, one hand on his shoulder and one cupping his face. She’s on her toes, and she’s kissing him.

It feels like fire. It’s fire and ice and lighting and a gentle breeze and familiar and new and home. The sun and moon simultaneously, as perfect and gorgeous as the sun setting behind them. Two souls, separated and reunited over and over again have continued the cycle in this life, sealing the relationship in this moment. It’s bliss, the thing spoken of in poetry and movies and love songs. Both of them are complete again, renewed in the light of each other’s glow.

Barry isn’t sure how long has passed before they’re pulling away to come up for air. His arms have moved to be around Lup’s middle, keeping her close.

Lup backs up enough to let them see each other’s faces. With a gorgeous look of wonder, she asks, “Did you feel that too?”

“Yeah,” he responds, breathless. On top of Lup kissing his breath away he’s just… wow. He isn’t sure he’ll breathe right ever again.

Without words she leans in to kiss him again. Maybe the magic of it all is only in the first kiss, but Barry swears he feels fireworks going off in his chest all the same. On top of soulmate magic, Lup herself is magic. He’s addicted to her kiss already.

When they pull away this time, Lup pulls him into a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. He closes his eyes and smiles, taking in the feeling of holding her in his arms.

“I’m so glad I found you,” she whispers.

“Me too,” he replies, just as quiet.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Barry,” she says, making him chuckle.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Lup.”

**Author's Note:**

> tysm for reading!! happy valentine’s day!! if no one was your valentine guess what i am. i sent chocolate and roses they’re on their way <3
> 
> be sure to check out my [tumblr](https://comradelup.tumblr.com/) for more fics and don’t forget to comment because that fuels me <333


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